Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 143 – Teacher Xia Mian Again!

When it came to Mao Huihe, everyone let out a sigh.

Xia Mian, remembering her miserable state back then, couldn’t help but ask, “How is she now? Does Hao Xufeng still hit her?”

“It’s gotten better these past two years,” Xia Chuan said. “After she got pregnant, the Hao couple started protecting her. After all, they still wanted a grandson.”

“She gave birth to a son at the end of last year, and the couple were overjoyed. To ensure Mao Huihe had enough milk, they took extra good care of her.”

“Anyway, once the child was born, they no longer allowed their son to hit her.”

“Now Hao Xufeng spends all his time fooling around outside. He’s gotten wilder and hardly comes home. Mao Huihe’s days are much better now.”

Mao Huilan asked in confusion, “Then why is she still looking for my sis?”

“Who knows?” Xia Chuan said. “She probably has some mental issues now. Keeps muttering about wanting Huimei to come back, like she’d be freed if Huimei returned.”

“The Hao family doesn’t really interfere when it comes to this,” Xia He said. “I think they’ve actually been trying to find her too. Perhaps out of spite.”

Xia Wenyue sneered, her voice was icy, “It’s already kind of me not going after them. If they’ve got the guts, let them try to find me.”

The Mao family was disgusting, but the Hao family was truly vicious. Every time Xia Wenyue thought of Mao Huihe’s fate, she couldn’t help but feel a chill. If her own daughter had ended up the same way, she would’ve dragged the Hao family down to hell with her.

Luckily, she was no longer the powerless person she had once been. Whether it was the Mao family or the Hao family, a grudge had long formed. If they kept their distance, fine, but if they dared to come to her, she’d settle old and new scores all at once!

Talking about things back home inevitably led to the trivial stuff, and they ended up mentioning the second uncle’s family.

Mao Huimei asked curiously, “Does Second Uncle know you all came to Yan City?”

“How could he not?” Xia Chuan said. “He’s always nosing into other people’s business. We had to ask others to look after the house and the fields, so of course he knew.”

“He didn’t kick up a fuss wanting to come?” Mao Huimei found it surprising.

Xia Mian joked, “Train tickets to Yan City aren’t cheap. You think he’d be willing to spend the money?”

Xia Hai burst out laughing. “Exactly! But he wouldn’t dare come anyway.”

Even though the second uncle was shameless most of the time, deep down, he understood the situation. Xia Wenyue truly hated him to the core. If he dared to show up, she would definitely make sure he couldn’t walk away in one piece.

Xia He said, “But he did ask us for the address. Said something about how his niece was getting married, and since he couldn’t come, he wanted Xia Li and Xia Bao to come instead.”

The grudges of the older generation rarely carried on to the next generation. Xia Wenyue usually didn’t take things out on the kids, which was why her brother dared to take advantage.

But she wasn’t worried. “Like he’d actually spend money on a gift.”

The second uncle had no idea Xia Wenyue was running a factory in Yan City and making money. He probably thought she was just running a stall and getting by. Otherwise, he’d definitely be trying every trick in the book to latch on.

The eldest uncle sighed, “If Xia Li found out, it might be a different story. That girl seems a lot more sensible now.”

Xia Mian, remembering Xia Li from four years ago, asked curiously, “What happened?”

“Oh right, didn’t Brother Xiao Chuan say she and Wang Tao are also in Yan City?”

“Yeah,” Xia Hai said. “They relocated the second year after you moved here. Wang Tao’s doing pretty well, apparently. Uncle Chengzu was really smug during the New Year, saying they made a few million last year. After this year’s holiday, he even wanted Xia Bao to come and earn some money too.”

“Xia Bao?” Xia Mian sneered. “What can he do besides cause trouble?”

“Exactly!” Xia Chuan laughed. “Just the other day, Uncle Chengzu was bragging again—said Xia Bao doesn’t need to do much, and even without a job, just selling steel bars earns him almost a thousand a month.”

Xia Mian: “…”

“I remember Wang Tao works in construction, right? Where is he getting the steel to sell?”

Xia Chuan laughed. “Really! Which construction sites never lose some materials? People around those places love stealing steel bars the most. It’s expensive and easy to sell.”

Xia Mian knew this much. Lots of people stole materials from construction sites to sell as scrap, which was simply the reality of this era. But the problem was, Xia Bao was stealing from his own family. Steel bars that his own brother-in-law had just bought, he sold off as scrap…

But honestly, that’s exactly the kind of thing his family would do.

Xia Hai sighed. “They say he came to help Xia Li, but it’s really just Uncle Chengzu using dirt on Wang Tao to get Xia Bao some perks.”

Xia Mian was curious. “What kind of dirt does he have on Wang Tao?”

“What else? Keeping a mistress,” Xia Chuan said. “Xia Li’s always been worried about him cheating, so she sticks to him closely, and even followed him to the construction site when she was heavily pregnant. But he still went out and got himself a college student.”

“You can’t watch a man all the time.” Xia Wenyue sneered.

“Exactly,” Xia Chuan said. “And Wang Tao doesn’t even bother hiding it. Says all the big bosses keep mistresses now—if he doesn’t, it’s embarrassing.”

Xia Mian: “…” What kind of strange competition is that?

“Xia Li made a scene and ran home. But in the end, they let Xia Bao come to Yan City with Wang Tao to ‘earn money.’ Supposedly, he’d get at least a thousand yuan in salary each month.”

“Most laborers get seven or eight hundred at best. Xia Bao can’t do anything, and he’s getting a thousand?” Xia Hai said. “Clearly, they traded Wang Tao’s secret for benefits.”

Xia Mian frowned. “And Xia Li?”

“What can she do? She already gave birth to the kid, her dad won’t stand up for her, so she just has to put up with Wang Tao,” Xia Hai said. “Talk about divorce all she wants. Deep down, she can’t let go.”

Eldest Uncle Xia sighed. “That Chengzu family… The road ahead’s only going to get harder. You’ll see. The real mess hasn’t even started yet.”

At that, he turned to look fondly at the well-behaved Xiao Feng at the next table and said with a loud laugh, “Our Xia family’s future rests on you all now. Xiao Feng’s going to do great things after he grows up!”

Hearing his name being mentioned, Xiao Feng turned his head around with a sweet smile. Qiangqiang also raised his hand excitedly. “Grandpa, I’ll do great things too!”

Xia Hai scoffed, “Great things? Like becoming a master carpenter?”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Even after learning that Xia Li and Xia Bao were in Yan City, no one was particularly concerned. They never actually expected to cross paths.

Yan City was so big, and Xia Wenyue and Wang Tao weren’t even in the same line of work. They could go over ten years without running into each other.

But they didn’t expect Xia Li and Wang Tao to show up on their doorstep.

It was two days before Mao Huimei’s wedding. Xia Mian had just come back from Hua University with Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng—mainly to deal with Qiangqiang’s refusal to study and insistence on becoming a carpenter.

After watching Xiao Feng, Mao Huizhu, and Chenchen do homework together, then touring Xiao Feng’s art studio and seeing his work, Xia He and Xia Chuan, whose children were still babies, felt somewhat reassured.

But Xia Hai was struck by a wave of anxiety about Qiangqiang’s future.

Even though Qiangqiang was clearly impressed by his peers’ talent, he still stubbornly insisted on following in his father’s footsteps as a carpenter.

Xia Hai’s blood pressure skyrocketed as a result. In his anger, he would find any excuse to give the kid a beating.

Since Xiao Feng had art lessons every other day, Qiangqiang’s “get-out-of-jail-free card” only worked every other day too, and even then, any skipped beatings were “made up” the next day.

So basically, every other day, the father and son would be seen running around the yard. The more Qiangqiang ran, the angrier Xia Hai got. Sometimes, the burly man was so mad he was nearly driven to tears.

When Xia Hai once again got mad because Qiangqiang had loosened the leg of a wooden stool and said he was going to borrow a hammer to fix it, his anger flared up again.

Xia Mian chuckled. “Brother, there’s really nothing wrong with Qiangqiang wanting to be a carpenter…” She was worried Xia Hai might actually explode, so she spoke while shooting him a meaningful look.

Seeing this, Xia Hai’s anger slightly subsided. Meanwhile, Qiangqiang, deeply moved by her words, immediately darted behind Xia Mian and said, “See! Auntie Mian said being a carpenter is pretty good! She’s a college student—what she says makes sense!”

“Besides, if no one becomes a carpenter in the future, who’s going to make furniture? Who’s going to build houses?”

That earned him another glare from his father.

Xia Mian couldn’t help but laugh. “Brother, his logic’s not wrong. He’s actually got some thoughts of his own.”

She pulled Qiangqiang back in front of her. “In fact, top-level carpenters are incredibly skilled, no less than college graduates. Do you know who the most amazing carpenter in the world is?”

“Here, let me ask you first. What do you think the most amazing carpenter can do?”

Qiangqiang thought for a while, then hesitantly said, “Make a whole carved Eight Immortals cabinet in half a month?”

Xia Mian laughed, then turned to Mao Huizhu, who was watching intently. “Huizhu, go to the studio and ask Xiao Feng to bring out his Lu Ban stool.”

Then she spotted Chenchen running in and said, “Chenchen, I remember you have a Lu Ban box, right? Lend it to Qiangqiang—let him learn something.”

“Qiangqiang, go to the kitchen and bring back nine chopsticks.”

The kids scattered. Meanwhile, Xia Mian carried a small table out into the courtyard.

By the time they returned, plus Xiao Feng, she had set the table and stools up.

“Xiao Feng, you finished your drawing?” Xia Hai asked a little sheepishly. “We didn’t interrupt you, did we?”

Xiao Feng had gone to his art class yesterday. Normally, he’d get up early and finish the homework his teacher assigned before doing anything else, so it wouldn’t interfere with his playtime during the day.

Xiao Feng grinned and nodded. “Uncle Hai, I’m all done!”

Xia Hai looked at him with barely concealed envy. When Qiangqiang saw Xiao Feng arrive, he also let out a breath of relief—at least with Xiao Feng here, his dad wouldn’t dare hit him, no matter how mad he got!

So, holding the chopsticks, he confidently strutted past Xia Hai, totally fearless.

Xia Hai was so angry that he clenched his fists on the spot.

Xia Mian laughed. “Come on now—don’t you want to know what the most amazing carpenter can actually make?”

Qiangqiang immediately ran over.

The four kids took a seat around the table. Xia Mian first used nine chopsticks to demonstrate how to build a wooden arch bridge, letting Qiangqiang help the whole time. When the final chopstick was slotted in, she let the whole structure go.

The chopsticks stood firm on the table, and the children all gasped in amazement. Even after Xia Mian placed a fruit plate holding half a watermelon on top, the entire structure remained perfectly stable.

Qiangqiang stared, completely entranced.

Xia Mian said to him, “This is carpentry too. A wooden arch bridge. Only our country has bridges like this. That’s why we have the best carpenters in the world.”

Qiangqiang nodded eagerly and reached out to take it apart to study it.

“Try that later,” Xia Mian said, gently brushing his hand away. “That one’s the simplest. Skilled carpenters can build very long bridges using wood. You can try later with twenty chopsticks—see if you can make the bridge longer.”

“Now let’s look at this Lu Ban stool.” Xia Mian placed the stool on the table and casually unfolded and transformed it. “Cool, right?”

Seeing Qiangqiang completely captivated, she folded it back up and pushed it in front of the boy. “This is made from a single block of wood. See? Just one solid piece like this rectangular one here. Can your dad make something like that?”

Qiangqiang couldn’t resist picking up the stool, turning it this way and that. Sure enough, he couldn’t find a single nail or screw—it was all woodwork.

Not just Qiangqiang, even Xia Hai and his two brothers leaned in to examine it closely.

Xia Hai commented, “This is incredible. Who made it?”

Xia Mian smiled. “A carpenter.”

“Hold on, there’s something even cooler!” she said, glancing at Chenchen.

Seeing how amazed they were by just the Lu Ban stool, Chenchen proudly pulled out his Lu Ban box. “This wooden box has a secret mechanism!”

Qiangqiang was already fully captivated. He took the box and fiddled with the precisely joined woodwork for quite a while. Even his father and uncles took turns trying, but none of them could open it.

Xia Chuan grew suspicious. “This is really a box? Not a trick?”

“Of course it’s a box.” Chenchen took it back, rolled it a few times in his hands, then repositioned it. Click! The lid slid open effortlessly, revealing his stash of pocket money inside.

Apparently, he used it as a piggy bank.

When Xia Hai saw the denominations of those bills, he instantly didn’t dare touch the box. Qiangqiang had also been taught not to grab other people’s money, so he didn’t reach for it either. The boy just stared at the box, scratching his head in frustration. “How is this made?”

If the Lu Ban stool’s workings were at least partly visible, the Lu Ban box was a complete mystery.

Xia Mian laughed. “There’s a wooden mechanism inside. Carpenters made that too.”

“There’s more than one type of mechanism box. The first person to invent them was called Lu Ban…” Xia Mian told them the story of Lu Ban. When they heard how he invented so many tools and even things that influenced war, Qiangqiang’s eyes grew brighter with every word.

Xia Mian smiled and asked, “Qiangqiang, do you want to be a regular carpenter who builds cabinets, or one like Lu Ban—the very best?”

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